Book of the Month

So here is an exciting new feature-well a feature at least.

Drop by Strabo’s Bookshelf on my home page for more travel orientated book recommendations

Red Nile A Biography Of The Worlds Greatest River by Robert Twigger

I had not heard of Robert Twigger until a serendipitous moment when his book Red Nile fell off the shelf in the Norrington room of Blackwell’s Bookshop. It was exactly the book I was looking for, even though I wasn’t looking for it. Bookshops can be like that. Twigger is a consummate storyteller, a proper traveller, authentic, and endlessly curious.

Fishing for crocodile food with Hamdy near Elephantine Island on the River Nile

The book is a biography of the world’s greatest river, not one story but a thousand and one, and told as if sitting in a pub clutching a cold Stella. If you are looking for a riveting read while taking a Nile cruise or lounging on the terrace of the Mena Palace, then Red Nile will tempt you out of your comfort zone. Thoroughly researched, insightful, and entertaining, from its sources to the sea.

“People set eyes on the Nile and they are beset by a curious urge to travel up it, discover its secrets, own it, control its bounty. Most of the stories, the human stories, concern attempts successful or not to control this river”

Buy on Amazon in the US

Buy on Amazon in the UK

Robert Twigger is a British author, poet and adventurer. After attending Oxford University he trained with the Tokyo Riot Police, which became the subject of his bestselling book Angry White Pyjamas. He has been awarded the Newdigate Award for Literature and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. He led the first expedition to cross the Great Sand Sea of the Egyptian Sahara solely on foot and another that was the first since 1793 to cross western Canada in a birchbark canoe. He is the author of nine books, both fiction and non-fivtion, as as several collections of poetry.

Robert Twigger Website

@johnwreford

Images are mine so please ask before stealing them 🙂


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Comments

13 responses to “Book of the Month”

  1. matt Avatar
    matt

    I suggest Eastern Approaches by Fitzroy MaClean if you haven’t read it.

    https://tinyurl.com/hr8nnf9x

    1. johnwreford Avatar

      Thanks for the tip Matt, will have a look

  2. restlessjo Avatar

    He sounds like an extraordinary man, and the book sounds right up my… river. Thanks for recommending.

  3. Tracy Abell Avatar

    That sounds like a wonderful book, John, and I especially love the part about how it leapt off the shelf into your arms!

  4. Yetismith Avatar

    What an enterprising fellow! Training with the Tokyo Riot Police alone would be excitement enough for most people. It is encouraging that there are still real adventurers among our sad species.

  5. Rosaliene Bacchus Avatar

    Thanks for the recommendation.

  6. Anna Avatar

    Sounds like my type of book, thanks for the tip!

    1. johnwreford Avatar

      Excellent. I hope you enjoy it.

    1. johnwreford Avatar

      Thank you Cindy 🙂

  7. Chuckster Avatar
    Chuckster

    Unfortunately, not yet available on my libraries’s Libby app… so I tagged it. There are 4 previous tags… so maybe…

  8. Tranature - quiet moments in nature Avatar
    Tranature – quiet moments in nature

    That sounds like a wonderful book John and it’s so lovely to see Aswan again 😊

  9. aibookbytes Avatar

    A great find! “Red Nile” by Robert Twigger is a thorough and engaging look at the Nile River, full of stories and insights. It’s a perfect companion for a cruise or relaxing by the river. Thanks for sharing this gem!

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